Tag: official information act

The new Minister supporting Greater Christchurch Regeneration, Hon Nicky Wagner, has refused to release the contents of a document tabled at a 21 December 2016 meeting between Crown negotiators and Church Property Trustee representatives.

Entire pages of the document, embedded below, were redacted under the obligation of confidence and negotiation sections of the Official Information Act.

The Minister recently released various cabinet documents in relation to the Cathedral stalemate, including a 13 December 2016 cabinet paper presented by previous Minister Gerry Brownlee a week before the meeting. It recommended the approval of a $10 million payment toward the Cathedral reinstatement and a $15 million credit facility. In a Stuff article Minister Brownlee said that the offer was made in December, but diocesan chancellor Jeremy Johnson said no binding offer had been received.

Crown Law has provided figures under the Official Information Act on the money and time spent in relation to legal work completed in respect of Kim Dotcom and his associates which amounts to more than $5.8 million.

Crown Law writes that the United States Department of Justice is not reimbursing New Zealand for any of these expenses, even though the cases largely relate to charges that they wish to bring against Mr Dotcom and his associates.

Crown Law hours spent

The figures:

are as at 8 February 2017;

include work on both domestic and mutual assistance (United States initiated extradition) legal proceedings;

exclude work completed to provide advice to other Government Departments, for example the Police or the GCSB who respectively picked up the bill for Crown Law’s advice to them; and

Using a conservative estimate of the value of the time spent ($140 per hour,1 which is the rate a Crown Law junior prosecutor would be billed out as – senior solicitors’ time is likely worth more, support staffs’ likely less), this comes to around NZD $3.6 million.

Disbursements

New Zealand has also covered the bill for work completed by external counsel on Crown Law’s behalf and expenses paid by Crown Law in relation to the Dotcom/Megaupload matters – another NZD $2.2 million.

This includes: $1.98 million on external barrister/solicitor fees, $171,800 on travel and accommodation, $23,151 on Court filing fees, $20,125 on photocopying, and $17,356 on professional fees including research material.

An excessive burden?

At least NZD $5.8 million has been spent on Kim Dotcom et al. by New Zealand so far, and it begs the question: was it worth it?

Should we have refused the United States’ mutual assistance request when it was made? Section 27(g)(i) of the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1992 allows New Zealand to refuse a request made by a foreign country if “in the opinion of the Attorney-General, the provision of assistance would impose an excessive burden on the resources of New Zealand”.

Kim Dotcom had hundreds of millions of dollars worth of assets before the raid on his home and it’s not a shock that he has aggressively defended the cases brought against him.

If spending $5.8 million+ has not been an excessive burden on New Zealand, what amount would be?

At around 5:15pm today the Department of Internal Affairs released some of the information they hold on Peter Thiel’s application for New Zealand citizenship, emailed on mass to those who had made requests under the Official Information Act.

Peter Thiel has never lived in New Zealand and doesn’t plan to live in New Zealand. He’s a controversial figure. We looked past that because of a few New Zealand business investments, public speaking engagements, and a donation to the Canterbury earthquake relief fund.

Neil Strauss wrote a book in 2009 called Emergency about disaster preparedness. In one part he investigates the trend of the super rich applying for secondary citizenship in another country. They wanted to be prepared when “the shit hits the fan” by having a Plan B country to retreat to if there was some sort of disaster. Strauss said New Zealand would be a great country to have citizenship in but that our requirements are so strict. He settled for Saint Kitts and Nevis.

When you’re Peter Thiel and are worth US$2.7 billion, I guess you don’t need to settle.

Thiel has his Plan B, New Zealand, but don’t expect to see him around unless the world is falling apart.

However, the University did not inform students of the sexual nature of the incident after it became public knowledge. The assault was alluded to in a 28 July UC blog post, which included 10 ’safety and security tips’ and a list of ’support for students’ links, including a link to the UC Health Centre. This content was also included in the next edition of the ‘Insider’s Guide Newsletter’, a weekly digest sent to all students, on 31 July.

Last night a student died suddenly at the Rochester and Rutherford Hall of Residence.

UC acting vice-chancellor, Dr Hamish Cochrane was quoted by the media as saying “all the university’s students and staff were advised [Sunday], and made aware of the support available”.

Communication to students consisted solely of a UC blog post listing four UC support services that are available to students, including the UC Health Centre. Links to blog posts appear for a few days in the sidebar of Learn, UC’s online learning management system which is regularly accessed by students and staff. However, no email was sent to students, and there was no acknowledgment that a student had died.

Late on Sunday night, a link to the blog post was included in the ‘Insider’s Guide Newsletter’ emailed to students.

UC Health Centre Counselling under pressure

Students are struggling to access support.

The UC Health Centre provides free counselling to UC students, however their website states that counselling appointments “are in high demand [and] you may have to wait a few weeks to be seen”. During office hours there is an on-call counsellor to deal with students facing an “emergency situation”.

During this year’s UCSA elections one group of candidates asked students on Facebook which one out of four campaign policies they thought was most important. “Increased mental health awareness and support” was voted second. In response to a question asking how the UCSA should help support those with mental health issues, students voted overwhelmingly for “increased health centre funding for more counsellors”.

Students wanting to skip the UC Health Centre counselling waiting list could choose to pay for sessions with a private counsellor or psychologist. Students may be eligible for the disability allowance, however there are restrictions, including a maximum payment of $61.69 a week (appointments with private psychologists can cost $150 or more).

Last month the member’s bill of Nuk Korako, a National Party list MP, was drawn from the ballot. The Airport Authorities (Publicising Lost Property Sales) Amendment Bill will replace, in relation to the advertisement of lost property auctions: “the insertion of suitable advertisements in a newspaper circulating in the district where the airport is situated” with “publicising the sale in what the authority considers to be a fair and reasonable manner”.

The Bill is unnecessary

The explanatory note to the Bill says that it “would allow authorities to use modern means of communication as well as future, unforeseen, means of communications as the airport authority may determine fit.” This isn’t true. The current Airport Authorities Act does not restrict airports from advertising any auction in new media. If airports wanted to advertise their auctions on their website, Facebook, or Snapchat, there would be nothing stopping them.

The Airport Authorities Act only provides a suggested template for what airports may wish to include in any bylaws they create. The Act states:

any local authority or airport authority may, in respect of the airport which it operates, make such bylaws as it thinks fit for all or any of the following purposes:

…

(ff) providing for the establishing and maintaining of facilities at the airport for the reception and storage of lost property, and, after the insertion of suitable advertisements in a newspaper circulating in the district where the airport is situated, providing for the sale by way of auction of any such property that is unclaimed after being held by the authority for not less than 3 months:

provided that in the case of lost property which is perishable or valueless the bylaws may provide for the disposal of the property in such manner as may be determined by the authority

It follows that if an airport does have a clause requiring the advertising of a lost property auction in a local newspaper, for example, Auckland International Airport, amending the Airport Authorities Act will not change that bylaw. The airport would have to have the bylaw changed, which could happen even if Mr Korako’s Bill does not pass.

Airport lost property auctions are rare and advertising them is free

I asked eight airports how much money they spent on advertisements for lost property auctions within the last year. Of the six that replied, only one airport, Dunedin Airport, has held an auction and placed an advertisement for it in the last year. The cost to them? $0. The Otago Daily Times doesn’t charge them.

Airports respond

Queenstown Airport

Queenstown Airport has a bylaw that covers lost property, however it has not held an auction within the last year, instead it has donated property to the Salvation Army. The property was not of significant value and included: second-hand clothing, sunglasses, reading glasses and books.

Christchurch International Airport

Dunedin Airport

Dunedin Airport is the only airport that replied that has placed an advertisement for a lost property auction within the last year. They are not charged for placing the advertisements, which run in the Otago Daily Times.

Their policy is to advertise lost property twice in the Otago Daily Times with all property being held for at least three months before being auctioned. Any remaining property is donated to charity. Any valuable item or identity documents are handed to the airport police

Hokitika Airport

Hokitika Airport has not received any lost property since 2002. They have no written policy on lost property. In practice, any lost property is handed to Air New Zealand staff as it likely belongs to one of their passengers or someone accompanying one of their passengers and Hokitika Airport staff are not present at the airport on a regular basis.

PHARMAC currently funds the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for all girls under 20. The intention is that through ‘herd immunity’, males will be protected too. However, herd immunity does not help males who exclusively have sex with other males (and herd immunity doesn’t kick in for males at all until female vaccination rates are above a certain percentage).

The Ministry of Health’s Immunisation Handbook even recommends the HPV vaccine (and the Hepatitis A vaccine) for men who have sex with men (MSM). MSM are at higher risk for HPV infection, anal cancer and high-grade anal intraepithelial neoplasia. They are more likely to acquire HPV compared to other males. But they’d need to pay around $500 to buy the vaccine’s three doses themselves.

The application’s status is now ‘ranked’, which PHARMAC describes as “prioritised; PHARMAC has assessed the application and has ranked it against other funding options”. It has had this status since November 2013, well over two years.

It is preferable to vaccinate people at a younger age to reduce the chances of exposure to HPV strains prior to vaccination–the younger people are vaccinated, the stronger the immunogenicity. PHARMAC sitting on this means that for some people the vaccine will be less effective when it is eventually funded than if they received it today.

Below: PHARMAC’s response to an Official Information Act request on this topic. The funding of medicines is a numbers game so naturally all mentions of relevant dollar figures have been redacted by the agency.

In the interests of full disclosure, I filed a Human Rights Commission complaint about this issue last year.

If you hold a school ball or formal could you please answer the following questions? Do you have a policy on same-sex dates? If so, could you please email me a copy of that policy?

In the past, has the school banned same-sex dates from attending the school ball or formal? If so, could you please provide details?

Do you have a policy on parties before/after the school ball or formal? If so, could you please email me a copy of that policy? [note that if schools interpreted this as a written policy, many will have responded with no policy when they do indeed have common practices and procedures]

And here’s the meat of the replies.

Same-sex dates

Darfield High is perhaps one of the more honest schools, and might not deserve to be in the same category as the other schools listed below. They admit that in the past same-sex partners weren’t permitted at their balls. This would have happened at other schools too.

Greymouth High School elect a king and queen. This probably happens at other schools too. Is it an inclusive practice?

‘Case by case basis’ is mentioned a lot in these replies. This doesn’t apply to opposite-sex dates that want to attend to the ball. Is it fair to subject same-sex dates to an additional process, just because of their sex?

Rejecting friends and mates of the same-sex as partners also came up. Are friends and mates of the opposite sex declined as dates? Is having to be gay, or having to prove that you’re gay, by signing something, or whatever, to take a same-sex date to a ball/formal acceptable?

Inviting sports teams to the formal/ball also came up as an excuse to treat same-sex couples differently. I wonder if the members of a mixed sports team attending the formal/ball would, as one schools says, “make a mockery out of the occasion”. I wonder how many times a same-sex sports team has attended the event at these schools. If it has happened, I wonder if they are being slightly over-dramatic regarding the negative effect it caused.

Christchurch Adventist School is the only school, out of those that actually replied, that flat-out says same-sex dates wouldn’t be permitted.

Campion College says they “generally [do not permit same-sex dates] due to a previous issue with vandalism”. I wonder if effectively banning same-sex dates is the best solution for this situation. I wonder how vandalism of a significant nature can occur during a supervised event.

Here’s what St Patrick’s College Wellington (the one that was in the news last year) said:

“Do you have a policy on same-sex dates? No we do not.

Has the school banned same-sex dates in the past? No as this has never arisen before.

Do you have a policy on parties before/after the school ball or formal? No we do not.”

—

Wellington Girls College

“No we don’t have a policy on same sex dates. If girls are in a same sex relationship they can bring their partner but we deal with this on a case by case basis. No we haven’t banned a same sex partner – we have said no to a friend from another school who just wants to come along to go to the ball though.”

“No we don’t have a policy on parties before/after ball. We simply say to parents and girls we don’t support after ball parties and if we hear of them we tell the Police. Pre ball parties – we ask parents to be vigilant.”

Sancta Maria College

“We do not have a policy on same sex dates although outside ‘partners’ cannot be “mates” of the same sex” “The students understand that all we are trying to avoid is a group of boys for example arranging to bring their Rugby Club team to the Ball by having them as ‘partners’. This is not the purpose of the Ball.”

“We do not have a policy but the school strongly discourages pre-ball and post-ball parties where alcohol is served.”

Darfield High School

No policy, same-sex dates not recently banned: “I have been at the school for 2 and a half years. I have been told that some years prior to this there was some issue with same sex dates.”

No policy on functions

St Thomas of Canterbury College

“Our students seem to have a wide circle of female friends and there has been no demand or requests from our students beyond that to date. If a student wanted to bring a same sex relationship partner we would be happy to accommodate that on a case by case basis.” No response to my request to elaborate.

“Our school ball is a community model ie the majority of parents and staff attend so the function is 50% student 50% adult. In terms of pre ball and post ball functions we work together with our students and discuss the pros and cons of these and inherent problems as well as safe measures if hosting in the home. As our function starts quite early at 6.30pm, involves a dinner and ball and finishes at 1am, our students have chosen in recent years not to have formally arranged after parties at booked venues.”

Christchurch Adventist School

As a Christian Adventist school (“Special Character – and biblical same-sex dating is not accepted as part of the faith community”). Also as we have students from Years 0-13 and hence we don’t encourage any relationships of any kind. We are a small area school so monitoring and dealing with the issues are manageable.

No policy on functions

Campion College

“The College does not have a written policy on same sex partners but generally does not permit it due to a previous issue with vandalism created when a group of students brought their ‘mates’ from another school. We reserve the right to decline any partners from outside the College attending.” Me: “So that’s more to stop troublemakers who are coming as friends, not dates?” “That’s correct.”

Ball finishes at 1am to try to discourage after parties

Kavanagh College

No policy – “I would however draw the line at say, for example, half the 1st XI soccer boys (or netball girls or whomever) want to take the other half just to make a mockery out of the occasion.”

“Like most schools we would prefer they did not occur. The main issue for the Board and management of the college is safety. In the past we have written/communicated to parents and students giving them firm advice and guidelines about safety and the legal ramifications of under-age drinking, or running large scale pre or post events etc. To date we have been fortunate that any events of this type, if they have occurred, have been well organised and managed by a wide group of parents.”

St Bede’s College

“I wouldn’t have a problem with it. However, it would have to be a senior management decision if the issue came up. As it hasn’t to date no policy has been made.”

No policy on functions

Tauranga Boys’ College

“We do not have a specific policy on same sex dates attending but treat each case as an individual situation. Last year we had two males from the college attend the ball together. I’m unaware of their sexual preferences as it wasn’t an issue in the decision being made.” “If the situation arises we will talk it through with those involved and then make a decision.”

“We discourage pre-balls and after-balls and reserve the right to cancel the ball if we are are aware of a gathering being planned involving significant numbers. We appeal to our parents to use their judgement and manage the situation sensibly. I have refered to this in my latest newsletter which will be available on our website in a couple of days. We start the ball at 6.30 with a formal meal for yr 13 students only and try to make the ball itself the main event of the evening for our students.”

School attitudes towards balls/formals

Martin Isberg from Wainuiomata High School points out that in every letter about their formal/ball they have sent out over the past few years, “press coverage after a couple of incidents in Auckland” has been included.

Breath testing and bag searching came up a bit, which is concerning from a civil rights standpoint.

In similar Big Brother fashion, Craighead Diocesan School requests a list of all the students attending before ball events.

Other schools mentioned making students not want to leave the event, or making it finish late so students wouldn’t have after parties.

Some schools have dinners and other events instead of balls/formals.

Thames High School notes that parents in conjunction with a student committee and community health providers have previously organised a controlled after ball with limits on alcohol, security, food, non-alcoholic drinks and transport being provided and attendance limited. But now it’s frowned upon by the police, and I assume the students run their own, less well supervised after parties.

General replies, with policies or comments

Albany Senior High School

No policy on same-sex dates

“If our Principal hears anything about an after ball party then the ball will be cancelled”

Alfriston College

No policy on same-sex dates

“If your child does intend to attend any Pre-Ball function we ask that you ensure that no alcohol is consumed. The Police have made it quite clear that they will close down any organised After-Ball event.”

No policy on same-sex dates, “all applications for [outside] dates to our ball are treated equally”, application to bring date from outside school involves references from their school or employer/other non-related reputable adult

No involvement with functions, allows SADD (students against drunk driving) representatives to liaise with senior students to discuss safe options, responsible parents organize after ball (including buses, supervision and bouncers), local police make an appearance, never had any problems

Aranui High School

No policy on same-sex dates

“We take every step to ensure that intoxicated students are removed by security guards before entry to the venue of the formal.”

Aurora College

No policy on same-sex dates

No policy on functions – small school, no problems in past with after functions

Awatapu College

No written policy on same-sex dates, “students are free to bring a partner of their choice”

No written policy on functions, reserves the right to reject partners based on behavioral history. “Students under the influence of drugs or alcohol will not be admitted to the ball and parents will be contacted to come and collect them. We have tight security and supervision, which includes a search prior to entry, in addition to the filter of the principal’s reception line.” “If we hear of any large scale organised parties, we inform the police.”

Bayfield High School

No policy on same-sex dates

No policy on functions, “but we do have policies around alcohol and the school. You have not requested those.” Not encouraged, not banned, schools name cannot be used. Must arrive at formal sober. Before ball parties have never been an issue.

Cashmere High School

No policy on same-sex dates

“We ask for information about them but send a letter to all parents explaining that we are not involved in these in any way.”

Central Hawkes Bay College

No policy on same-sex dates

Urge students to be sensible, generally have good co-operation from students and wider community

Coastal Taranaki School

No policy on same-sex couples

“Parties (if involving [drugs and alcohol]) are not sanctioned by the Board”

Craighead Diocesan School

No policy on same-sex dates

Letter to students/parents ask them to let the school know if they’re planning on holding a before formal event. Asks for list of students attending. Recommends limits on alcohol. Parents and students sign form stating that there will be no after formal functions.

“They all know that if they turn up intoxicated they will be refused entry. We employ security to assist and bags are checked prior to entry. If alcohol was found they would be sent home. Years ago students did run an organised after ball that went off without problems. The following year it fell through and didn’t happen and since that time there has never been an organised after ball in the sense of organised venue, alcohol via the entry ticket, security guards organised or parent organised.”

Epsom Girls’ Grammar School

No policy on same-sex dates

Police talk to students about legal issues around pre and after ball parties. Forward information to families from the police and council regarding these events.

“The School follows a practice of discussing each year with senior students whether or not a school ball will be held and, if so, what arrangements or conditions will apply, including such topics as who will be invited and any associated events”

Hamilton Girls’ High School

No policy on same-sex dates

Can breath test on entry

Hurunui College

No policy on same-sex dates

“We often have breath testing before entry. We are not obliged to hold a ball and the health and safety of our students is paramount. We do not want to have students in car smashjes or suffereing alcohol poisoning after a school organised event.”

Hutt Valley High School

No policy on same-sex dates

All students breath tested and bags checked, no level of alcohol is permitted, parents asked not to hold pre-ball events

Require 85% attendance to attend the ball, students may not leave until 30 minutes before the ball ends

No policy on same-sex dates, “the rules of justice and equity apply to everyone”

No policy on functions, no events sanctioned by school

Kelston Girls’ College

No policy on same-sex dates

No policy on functions

Expectations covered by letter sent to parents

Lincoln High School

No policy on same-sex dates

No policy on functions

One approved alcohol-free after ball is organized by youth workers

Macleans College

No policy on same-sex dates

We have made a ruling that if there is a post-ball party planned the ball will be cancelled.

Mana College

No policy on same-sex dates

EXpect students to arrive and leave sober

Maniototo Area School

No policy on same-sex dates

Any after party is not a school function.

Manurewa High School

No policy on same-sex dates

Search students on entry to ball venue “as required by the venue” and have breath testing there to be used if necessary. School Police Constable attends and the Police are notified of the event

Matamata College

No policy on same-sex dates

Tickets not allowed to be sold at school, reserve the right to breath test at the ball

Middleton Grange School

No policy on same-sex dates

Letter to parents/students suggests alcohol not be available at post-formal functions, along with other recommendations around supervision. – Pupils are not to be involved in pre-functions where alcohol is available. The school requests that parents provide vigilant oversight in this important matter and be consistent with this policy. Pupils will not be permitted entry if they do not abide by this request.

We do however ask that pre ball parties are alcohol free. This year we intend to breath test as students arrive. We expect that there will not be any after parties. The school does not associate itself with any such event and would contemplate cancelling the formal if any were organised.

New Plymouth Girls’ High School

No policy on same-sex dates

“Small family gatherings in private homes with family and friends are permitted. Large pre-after ball events are not permitted. Our stance mirrors that of the police that is outlined in the letter they sent to schools. Gatherings planned in secret, sale of tickets, provision of alcohol to minors, buses to and from venues are deemed to be illegal gatherings.The police will be notified if any events of this nature come to our notice. We test any attendee at the ball that we suspect to be under the influence.”

Newlands College

No policy on same-sex dates, “queer students obviously have the same rights as any other students”. “We have peviously had students bring same-sex partners to the ball without any issue being made.”

No policy on functions

Opotiki College

No policy on same-sex dates

Breath test all ball goers at door so there can be no drinking at pre-balls. Post-ball gatherings are registered with local police so they can keep an eye on.

All students breath tested on entry, if a student fails the test they can get picked up by their parents or wait in a secure area and get retested after an hour, after a second failure parents are contacted and disciplinary action occurs the next school day, Police are called if it is an outside partner

Papatoetoe High School

No policy on same-sex dates

“We provide local authorities with any information they request with regard to the timing of our ball, etc.”

Piopio College

No policy on same-sex dates

“The Ball is being held on the assurance of the Student Council that no ‘after-ball’ function will take place.”

“Students have not these last two years organised formal parties either before or after and I have a request to extend the hours of the ball as they are not planning any other event this year either”

Rangiora High School

No policy on same-sex dates

Know they take place, give guidelines to parents, students not admitted entry if they are “tanked up”

Rangitoto College

No policy on same-sex dates

After balls effectively banned. “The College is organising the ball on condition that it is not followed by any large scale ‘After Ball’ function. Should the College be informed of such an event then the Ball will be cancelled. If the event occurs subsequent to the Ball then school management would have to consider very carefully whether they would be prepared to run any school balls in the future.

Any student who is involved in the organisation of such an large scale after ball function will be considered by the school management to have undertaken an act of Gross Misconduct as defined by Section 14 (1) (a) of the Education Act and will have to face a Board disciplinary hearing.

We are happy with the idea of small functions after the Ball in private homes where parents take responsibility for supervising the safety of students. If you are planning to have a group to your house after the Ball and would like to check whether it fits our criteria, please don’t hesitate to ring”

Rathkeale College

Runs ball with St Matthew’s Collegiate (Masterton)

No policy on same-sex dates

No policy on functions

“While some student leavers’ may gather pre-ball, this is not an issue as from about 4.00pm students are gathered at our schools for photographs etc and the ball commences at 6.00pm. After the ball most students and their parents stay in accommodation provided at the venue. There is overwhelming parental control at the ball and after the ball. It is a function that is not officially a school function. It is organised by parents for their Year 13 sons and daughters who have actually left school, but the two principals have the say on how it managed. The arrangement works very well for our schools.”

Reefton Area School

No policy on same-sex dates

We actively discourage pre-ball post-ball parties and promote that position widely in the community. It doesn’t stop it happening mainly because parents arrange them.

Reporoa College

No policy on same-sex dates

No policy – “we do however have a practice of breathalysing upon entry to the ball”

No policy – “Cannot comment on past as i haven’t been here long enough”

“I issue a statement in a letter to ball going students that we will not tolerate after ball parties. If I hear of one I reserve the right to cancel the ball.”

Selwyn College

No policy on same-sex dates

No policy – supports parents concern re pre/post ball functions, reminds them that serving liquor to minors at any function would breach licensing arrangements and that functions should be supervised and have food available; don’t condone after ball functions either

Shirley Boys’ High School

No policy on same-sex dates

Visually check for influence of alcohol/drugs, no authority to ban after ball parties

Southland Boys’ High School

No policy on same-sex dates

The students, parents and police hold an after ball function. This is not a school event as such, but is managed by parents and the police with the support and co-operation of the school. It is the only after ball event that is sanctioned by the school. As part of the work we do with police and health workers, after ball activities and acceptable behaviours are negotiated with the students. We have not had any issues with students, parents, police with regard to this

St Hildas Collegiate

No policy on same-sex dates

“SADD Committee organise a post formal function – it is not a school event and is run by SADD representatives and parents. This event has been very successful and extremely well supervised.”

St John’s College (Hastings)

No policy on same-sex dates

“We do not allow after ball parties. Our statement to parents is that if we find out a large after ball party is being organised we will cancel the ball.”

St Mary’s College (Ponsonby)

No policy on same-sex dates

“We write in the letter to parents and students that the school does not approve of any pre-ball and after-ball parties. Parents and students are required to sign the return slip in the letter to say they understand these are the conditions for the students to attend the ball.”

St Peter’s College (Palmerston North)

No policy on same-sex dates

Senior charity evening instead of ball – “pre and after-functions are NOT acceptable”

No policy on same-sex dates – in a typical year all date applications are approved

No policy on functions – no involvement

“Given the recent event we are in the process of preparing information for a policy which will be in place for any ball held from 2012.”

Takapuna Grammar School

No policy on same-sex dates

Actively discourage the holding of after-balls

Tauranga Girls’ College

No policy on same-sex dates

“We have a contract signed by those attending that they will obey the TGC code of conduct while at the ball and that they will not organise or attend post ball events of the paid tickets / alcohol supplied / secret venue type.”

Tawa College

No policy on same-sex dates

“A breathalyser will be present and students may be randomly tested to check that the specified boundaries with regard to alcohol have been respected.” “The Formal is the main event of the evening. We do not want to hear of large parties occurring either before the Formal, or after the Formal is over. Such parties, in our experience, bring trouble of one sort or another, reflect very badly on the school, and can cause considerable grief to parents if they get out of hand.”

“We have told students of our intention to breath-test all students, with any students who return a positive test being denied entry to the Ball. We also intend to randomly test students during the course of the evening to guard against students ‘smuggling’ alcohol into the function. – there has been a Safe After-Ball Party. This has been organised by a student committee supported by parents and community health providers. This function was organised following Alcoholic Liquor Advisory Council (ALAC) guidelines, and included strict limits on the type and quantity of alcohol that students could take into the function, a high level of security being provided, entry restricted to students who had attended the Ball, food and non-alcoholic drinks being provided, and transport provided to and from the venue (so that no students were driving). Over the past two years the context for such functions has changed. Police no longer support this concept, particularly because it is now considered to breach the law in relation to students under the legal age being supplied with alcohol, and a place to consume alcohol.”

No policy on functions. “Each year the local police are present at the start of the Ball and also pop in during the event.”

Wainuiomata High School

No policy on same-sex dates

“If we become aware of any large-scale organised function on the night, we will pass that information on to the Police.”

Waitaki Girls’ High School

No policy on same-sex dates

No policy on functions. “I am aware that there is an after formal function which parents and the police organise completely independent of this school.”

Wanganui Girls’ College

No policy on same-sex dates

“Our ball is run as a private event off school site by senior students and their parents and what they choose to do before or after the ball we consider their business. We advise parents and students that they should be cautious of arranging such events, but in the end, it is their business.”

Wellington East Girls’ College

No policy on same-sex dates

“Students often attend pre ball functions at the homes of parents. The functions are alcohol free events.”

Western Springs College

No policy on same-sex dates

“If we receive information about the organisation of an after-ball event involving the illegal supply of alcohol, we will pass this on to the NZ Police. Students have been advised not to organise large scale pre- or after-ball events and not to sell tickets for such events which offer the bearer the illegal supply of alcohol.”

‘[in response to another post] This, and your other suggestions, are undermining the spirit and intent of the OIA. It is not up to the schools to decide whether they should hand over information based on any criteria of use or who is requesting it.

It’s not about being polite, it’s ensuring that the “norm” does not become something where those providing information under OIA have more wriggle room out of providing it than the law provides.’

Official Information Act guidance for schools

‘Official Information Act (OIA) Requests: From time to time boards bear the brunt of broad requests or fishing type expeditions. A recent case in point is a request in the past couple of weeks from the Leader of the Oppositions office to principals for information relating to national standards. We have had calls from boards and principals about the time and effort these sorts of things create. A reminder of the process when dealing with an OIA request (see very helpful guidelines from the Ombudsmen).

you should ensure that the board are aware of any information that is intended to be released from any member of staff

you have up to 20 days to respond to the request (in certain cases you can defer for administrative reasons – but this is limited)

If the request relates to “work in progress” you may not be able to provide a definitive answer to what is requested and you should identify that is the case.

you should ensure that what information the board supplies does not compromised the privacy of any individual(s)

you are not required to write an extensive response – often a yes/no, numbers or simply a copy of the material will do

sometimes it is not possible to establish the exact information eg if you are asked how much training has been undertaken specifically for one purpose it may be difficult to separate this out from the normal PD undertaken in the school. There is no requirement to establish new separate databases for such things, particularly where this would require additional administrative costs.’

The 20 day bullet point is interesting because the OIA states: “as soon as reasonably practicable, and in any case not later than 20 working days”.

‘Beverley Wakem says the Office has observed an increasing tendency by a few government departments and Ministerial offices to ignore the provisions of the Official Information Act over the timing of responses to requesters.

“While in some cases this was clearly a misunderstanding of their obligations, there is also a regrettable tendency to game the system and delay responses until the complainants’ interest in the matter had passed,” she says.’ [emphasis mine]

Learn from my mistakes

Wording of the emails

1) When sending a request to multiple recipients, test it with a few first. Then make appropriate changes. Including ‘procedures and practices’ in my request might have been a good idea. However most schools got the idea that by policies, I also meant procedures and practices.

The follow-up email

2) Ask for the recipient to tell you when they have received your request. That opens the door for you to send a nice email a few days later to make sure they got your first email if they haven’t replied.

Some schools appreciated the half way follow-up reminder. Others didn’t. Probably because of the Ombudsman line.

3) Let them know that you know the time limit. “I look forward to your response within 20 working days.” Or you can calculate the day.